University of Montana constitutional scholar and law professor Anthony Johnstone was confirmed Monday to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by the U.S. Senate.

Montana’s senators split on the 49-45 vote to confirm Johnstone, former State Solicitor and Assistant Attorney General in Montana who has taught at the UM Alexander Blewett III School of Law for more than a decade.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, supported the nomination of Johnstone, who had extensive backing from the legal community and wide and bipartisan support from Montana.

“Montanans expect their judges to apply the law without bias, in a common sense way – and that’s exactly what Anthony Johnstone has done throughout his entire legal career,” Tester said in a statement from his office. “He has an outstanding record of service to the people of the Montana, and I have no doubt that he will serve the American people well on the Ninth Circuit bench.

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